Intro + 3 Tips for Low-Sodium Newbies

This summer, my husband was told that he had elevated blood pressure and needed to go on a restrictive 1,500mg-per-day low sodium diet. It was a shock to both of us, and also a wake-up call - once we started reading the labels on EVERYTHING, we realized just how much sodium we were unwittingly consuming each day. Oops.

The good news is that we didn't have to get rid of too many pantry staples; I simply needed to pay more attention to how I used everything and measure, measure measure (something I've never done when cooking - I much prefer to eyeball things). We are a meat-free household, so in some ways, it's been an easy transition, but in other ways, it's also been a challenge. No meat and no sodium might make you think BLAND CITY, but I promise that each recipe is tested, refined and approved by both of us.

I've been working on fine-tuning new and interesting recipes each week so that we have a lot of options when it comes to menu planning. Most of them are really easy to throw together on a weeknight and don't require a crazy amount of ingredients - or prep time, for that matter. I'll be sharing a new recipe or informational post each week, but today I wanted to start out with the 3 best tips which have formed the basis of my vegetarian/low-sodium learning curve:

• Online shopping saves time. I now rely heavily on Peapod not only because they deliver groceries right to my doorstep, but because I can turn on a Nutrifilter to display an icon next to anything that meets the USDA guidelines for being low sodium, and it also will display those products at the top of my search results. As you can imagine, this is a HUGE time saver. I'd be spending hours reading each label at the grocery store, which is considerably less appealing. My other favorite online source is Penzey's Spices, which has an entire low-sodium section. Many of my recipes are built around these spices! 
• Not all products are created equal. I was reminded of this recently when I had to buy a brand of tofu that was different than my usual one - and realized ZERO sodium tofu exists. It just goes to show that sometimes it's good to shop around, I had just assumed that all tofu had sodium in it, even if it was a very small amount!
• Soy sauce is the devil. It pains me to say this, and even low-sodium soy sauce and Bragg's Liquid Aminos (which I prefer to soy sauce) still have a lot of sodium in it. My other favorite, miso, is even worse. I think the hardest part of cooking low-sodium meals has been dialing back the soy sauce content of my stir fry sauces.  

Some other things you should know: I am not a doctor. I am not a dietitian. I really have no qualifications whatsoever to give you medical advice or counsel you in pretty much any area. I'm just a vegetarian who likes to cook and doesn't want her husband to have a heart attack before he's 40. So you should probably go see a doctor if you think something is wrong, or to manage your pre-existing condition.

Also, I am not sponsored by any companies, and am not currently utilizing any affiliate links, just in case you were wondering. My Penzey's obsession is entirely outside the realm of product placement.

I hope these recipes help you the way they've helped us. That's all!